THE Lord calls to his people wherever they may be scattered in Babylon, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” We live emphatically in the time for extending this cry, and we must extend it. The warning to those in danger, is a most righteous and benevolent warning, and those who hear it shall praise God forever, that it has reached their hearts, and induced them to abandon the devoted city. There is no escape for one soul, only by fleeing to the Lord, and that can only be done by abandoning all human laws, and adhering to the law of the Lord. “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh; for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven; whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things that can not be shaken, may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which can not be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.” Thanks to Heaven, there is a kingdom that can not be moved. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but, he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.” “He,” says the Lord, “who hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man.” “He who hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, I will liken him to a foolish man.” Our work is to try and call the attention of all nations to the sayings of our Lord, and induce them to hear him. They must hear him, or be lost for ever.
Come out of Babylon, O you saints of the Lord, wherever you are, and commit yourselves to the hands of the Lord. “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” Hear the holy John describe her destruction: “A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city, Babylon, be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.” “After these things, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia: Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord, our God; for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again, they said, Alleluia, and her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped him that sat upon the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia! And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his wife hath made herself ready.”
Wonderful things are before us, and let us be in readiness for their approach. When Paul was leaving the disciples, expecting to meet them no more in the flesh, he said, “I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified.” This same word, another Apostle says, is able to save your souls, and the Lord says, “The words which I speak to you shall judge you in the last day.” His word lives and abides forever and ever. If we were making our dying request, and that to the dearest friends we have on earth, we would request them to abandon all human authorities and hold on to the word of the Lord for ever.
[PREACH “FIRST PRINCIPLES.”]
THERE is no telling the evils that have arisen in some old congregations, from preachers assuming that their audiences knew all about what are usually called first principles, and not preaching them. In this way, they never get their audiences to understand the principles of the gospel at all. They preach to their half-sleeping audiences, not hearers, some little, exhortatory sermon, of twenty-five or thirty minutes, and not a syllable is recollected two days. The people are thankful that the sermon was short, and the preacher thankful that “service” is over. In this way the gospel has literally been shut out of some churches, and year after year passes without any thing like a clear development of the gospel, and neither the church nor the regular hearers understand the gospel, or know the difference between the gospel and something else. This also gives rise to textuary preaching and preaching a sermon “to develop a single thought.” We heard of one preacher who delivered a sermon on the text, “And there shall be no night there.” The wording was soft as a summer breeze and as harmless as a butterfly. Now, we must say that we abominate this as mere trash. We want good, sound, solid and manly preaching, containing principles and practical instruction, that will make an audience think and feel, and that to some purpose. Let us advocate the cause, maintain and defend it, with zeal, earnestness and power. Unfold the great principles of the faith, spread them out and let the world see them, and see at the same time that we intend they shall prevail. The principles are self-evidently right, and there is no reason why any man should be ashamed of them, or afraid to advocate them. They can be carried through the world, and we have the men and ability, and, the Lord helping us, we shall spread them throughout the land.